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Russia 1, South Korea 1: Blundering Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was bailed out by teammate Alexander Kerzhakov in a draw with South Korea in the World Cup yesterday in Cuiaba, Brazil, that exposed both teams’ deficiencies.

Akinfeev already had looked suspect in dealing with long-range shots before spilling Lee Keun-ho’s speculative effort into his own net in the 68th minute, gifting South Korea the lead. Kerzhakov, though, came to Akinfeev’s rescue by turning in a shot from close range six minutes later — just three minutes after coming on as a substitute — to earn Russia a point in the Group H game.

Akinfeev stayed on the ground inside his own net, head in his hands, after making his error, clearly embarrassed after dropping what was a routine save from a shot from about 30 yards. He was consoled by a couple of teammates, who patted him on the back. “He is a great goalkeeper,” Russia coach Fabio Capello said. “There can be mistakes, of course — some can get a penalty wrong … and it’s logical for a goalkeeper to make a mistake as well.”

Belgium 2, Algeria 1: Waiting and waiting for an equalizer, the tension started to show on the faces of the Belgium players as the second half wore on in the country’s first World Cup game in 12 years.

Algeria was on the verge of a major upset in their Group H opener in Porto Alegre, Brazil, taking the lead on a penalty kick in the 25th minute. Try as they might, Belgium’s attacking players couldn’t break down Algeria’s defense.

In the end, it was the Belgian bench that found the way, with substitutes scoring both goals.

Algeria’s surprising lead stood for 45 minutes until Marouane Fellaini’s strong glancing header, with his back to the goal, from a Kevin De Bruyne cross in the 70th minute.

Fellaini had only come into the game five minutes earlier.

Dries Mertens’ right-foot strike beat Algeria goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi in the 80th minute after Eden Hazard saw him free on the right and set him up for the decider. Mertens sent his shot high outside of Mbolhi’s reach.

“We knew it would be tough, that there would be no space,” Wilmots said. “We made one error, and we paid for it. The bench made the difference. We showed mental strength, and we came back.”